A STUDENT knew that finishing her degree in the midst of a pandemic was never going to be easy, but she didn’t expect to be writing her dissertation whilst waiting to find out whether or not she had breast cancer.
Charlotte Dougall, from Glasgow, almost didn’t bother visiting her GP when she found a lump the size of a grape in one of her breasts.
Now, the 25-year-old, whose results came back benign, says she has learned a “very important lesson” about checking your breasts for any changes.
“I’d had a sore boob for a couple of weeks but I’d put it down to hormones or overdoing it slightly on the home workouts,” she said.
“But when it stayed sore for about three weeks or so I realised that I should probably check to see if there were any noticeable lumps.
“Straight away I found a lump in my boob about the size of a grape.”
According to Scottish charity Breast Cancer Now, the next steps once you notice a change when checking your breasts is to see your GP, because the earlier breast cancer is diagnosed, the better the chance of successful treatment.
But many women, like Charlotte, have been concerned about getting checked out during the coronavirus outbreak and felt anxious about potentially lengthy waiting lists.
“I did feel quite nervous at taking up my doctor’s time during a pandemic,” said Charlotte.
“I thought it was probably nothing and maybe thought I shouldn’t bother with all this hassle.
“But at the same time I knew that I had to get seen as soon as I could, even if it was just for the peace of mind.”
After being put on hold by Covid, routine breast cancer screening only restarted at the beginning of August after a four-month pause.
But Charlotte was pleasantly surprised at how quickly and efficiently doctors dealt with her case.
She said: “I found my lump at the start of July and I was seen by the breast clinic at the start of August.
“Even the supermarket was stressing me out so the thought of going to the hospital was very stressful, but everything was handled so well. It felt super safe, everyone had the masks and the right equipment and protection, hand sanitiser everywhere, one-way systems and everything was distanced.
“You’re there for a couple of hours while they run all the scans and tests, and they tell you straight away. That was a huge relief for me because the uncertainty was quite stressful.”
For digital marketing student Charlotte, who was in the final stages of completing her dissertation at the University of the West of Scotland, managing both her workload and the stress of a possible cancer diagnosis was a challenge.
“It was really tough to be managing both at the same time,” she said.
“It was a really stressful time, but I think if I hadn’t had that deadline looming as a bit of a distraction, I probably would have found it a lot harder to cope with the uncertainty that came alongside the waiting to have it checked.”
Addie Mitchell, clinical nurse specialist at Breast Cancer Now, the research and care charity, said: “We know that many women are concerned or uncertain about getting possible cancer symptoms checked out during the coronavirus outbreak.
“However, it’s so important everyone knows that they can and should still get in touch with their GP surgery as soon as possible if they notice an unusual change in their breasts. If you’re worried about a possible symptom, please don’t wait to report it.
“While most breast changes won’t be cancer, it’s important to contact your GP as soon as possible if you find anything different or new. The sooner breast cancer is diagnosed, the more likely treatment is to be successful.”
Charlotte used to think that because she was young, there wasn’t a need to check her breasts for lumps.
But now, Charlotte says she’s “learned a very important lesson about staying on top of it.”
She added: “It only takes a couple of minutes to check and it is so important to do so, because it could impact your life so much.
“Even if you don’t think there’s anything to worry about, you still need to be familiar with how your boobs feel normally as kind of a baseline, so you can be on top of any changes no matter how subtle they may seem.
“I’m really thankful that in this situation it was benign and nothing to worry too much about, but at least now I know that the process is a lot easier than I expected and it’s not as terrifying as I expected it to be.”
Anyone concerned about a potential symptom of breast cancer can call Breast Cancer Now’s free Helpline on 0808 800 6000.
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